


Ambiguity

by The_Magic_Lava_Lamp



Category: The Monkees (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-20
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-07-14 22:10:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16049573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Magic_Lava_Lamp/pseuds/The_Magic_Lava_Lamp
Summary: Mike decides that it's finally time to tell his noisy upstairs neighbor to quiet down.





	Ambiguity

Mike had always been a fan of routines. Going by the old fashioned mind-set which had been kept by his mother and then passed on to him like some sort of family heirloom. If he went about doing the same cycle of things every day, he'd be efficient and comfortable. A chip off the old block as his mothers friends used to say while looking down at him as he was a young shy boy standing just behind his mothers leg.

This was a practice that continued on with him into his young adulthood. Which is why he was throwing his clothes into a laundry basket while Sunday was just beginning to roll into the afternoon. And right on time, the loud noises from upstairs were starting as well.

Since moving into an apartment building recommended to him by his friend Peter, who lived a floor below him, Mike became annoyingly aware that his upstairs neighbor was loud. Not just the parties he heard this guy throw-no this guy was loud on a day to day basis.

Mike heard mumbles of conversations, footsteps and loud thumps and bangs that seemed to indicate that the guy was just so damn clumsy, it was ridiculous. And hearing it all was the one part of Mike's routine that he could stand to boot out. And he considered going up there on several occasions to say something to this noisy guy but he'd always settled on the decision not to. Not wanting to end up being that guy who complained about noisy neighbors as if he was some old grump. If he went down that path, he might as well add thumping his broom against the ceiling a few times to his daily routine.

Just as he went to pick up the laundry basket, three thumps came from behind his door and was then followed by a "Mike? Did you go downstairs yet??"

Mike sighed and went over to open his door where Peter was standing, his own laundry basket sitting comfortably on his hip and a smile on his face. "I thought we were gonna be laundry buddies when you moved in here." Peter walked right in, passing Mike and setting his basket down on the arm of his couch.

Mike gave him a small smirk as he fiddled with his watch, as if inspecting the time. "And oh look it's been two months and we haven't done laundry together once." He let his wrist fall back to his side and Peter rolled his eyes.

"That's cause you avoid me-" 

*Thump*

Both of them paused their conversation to look up at the ceiling where the sound had come from. Mike winced as he did so many times in this apartment in the small span of the two months. "There he goes again...every day with this guy, Pete. I tell ya." Mike shook his head and gestured up. Peter chuckled, playing with the folds of clothes in his white basket.

"Hey, every apartment building has to have the noisy neighbor." Peter shrugged again, seemingly not bothered by the noise at all though he didn't have to live with it. "You're the grumpy neighbor.." Peter laughed when Mike threw him a glare.

"Hey, try being the pot-head neighbor!" Peter defended himself as he re-folded the clothes he'd been toying with. Mike had to chuckle at that as he put his hands on his hips and stared at the ceiling. "Mrs. Johnson comes over to complain every time she smells brownies coming from my apartment and sometimes, I'm just making regular brownies." Peter frowned as he thought on his struggles, Mike however was still grimacing at the ceiling. 

*Thump*

"If it bothers you so much, I'm surprised you haven't gone up to complain." Peter spoke and Mike finally dipped his chin to look back at him, hands on his hips. 

"I didn't want to be that guy but apparently I'm already known as the grumpy neighbor..." Mike gestured to Peter with a bitter look. Peter just chuckled and leaned against the couch arm with a smile. "Maybe I should just go say something." Mike frowned as Peter took a seat on the light blue flannel couch, re-folding his clothes in his lap as comfortably as he would in his own home. 

"Good luck with that." Peter mumbled as he set one of his t-shirts carefully back into his basket. Mike rolled his eyes and sighed. "What? I'm not coming with just to make you look better. You know I don't like confrontation." Peter insisted and Mike shook his head, rolling his shoulders back to stall a little bit. "But I'll be here when you get back." Peter grinned again, teasing Mike as he wiggled his feet. 

Instead of responding to that, Mike shuffled out of his apartment and closed the door behind him. He stood in his hallway for a few minutes, arms crossed as he thought about actually going up there. He wasn't like his friend, he was not afraid of confrontation if the situation really called for it but he wasn't all for his neighbors disliking him when he'd have to live in the same building with them.

He had to admit, the building was pretty comfortable and living close to Peter had it's perks no matter how he'd deny that. His last place of living was pretty shitty. So if he messed this up, his options were limited at best. He almost turned to go right back into his place-

*Thump*

And then he thought about the many times he'd been trying to sleep when there was some sort of loud party going on up there. And the countless times he'd had to sit through a series of loud mumbles of conversation and thumps.

That was all it took to get Mike to let go of his doorknob and walk the short distance to the stairs which had the terrible habit of squeaking as people came and went. The noise made it annoying to take them as opposed to the elevator but it was a minimal issue. All the little problems Mike had found with the building had led Peter to believe that he didn't like the joint at the beginning but he did. It was just a terrible habit of Mike's to look for little faults.

Mike climbed the last step and headed straight for the door that would be right above his own and planted his feet firmly on the ground. Reaching out his fist, he knocked in a polite way and waited. He could hear the footsteps from the other side of the door right before it opened and-

The door flung open and Mike's stomach dropped. He was met with soft almond shaped eyes that were not only beautiful but familiar in a way that made Mike more than a little uneasy.

The mean leaned on the doorway, his pillows of curls bounced a bit from what must have been a rush of movement. Any confidence Mike had was gone in a flash and he found it impossible to speak. But his noisy neighbor had the expression of mixed emotions that all came to a rise when he smirked. "Mike Nesmith...." He tilted his head like he was enjoying the quiet from the Texan.

"Micky." Mike nodded, trying to ignore the awkward energy that was now between them. He knocked his fists together in an attempt to do something with his hands before he let them fall back to his side and then shoved them into his pockets. 

"This is...great." Micky remarked with sarcasm and crossed his arms. He turned to look over his shoulder at the clock in his apartment. Mike took the short few seconds to look him up and down. "What on earth brings you to my apartment after...what? Nine years?" Micky pursed his lips and faced Mike again. 

"Well, I live downstairs and-" 

"Since when?" Micky interrupted and Mike frowned but Micky didn't seem to care. 

"I moved in like two months ago. I didn't know you lived here, actually." Mike brought his hand up to rub awkwardly at the back of his neck while Micky took in that information, nose twitching in a simple and cute way. 

"Soooo why are you here?" Micky gestured to his door and looked at the other man curiously. Mike swallowed, not proud of what he was going to have to say next. 

"Well...sometimes it's a little loud up here and-" 

"You came to complain?" Micky subtly snorted in bad habit as he chuckled, he attempted to play the sound off like he used to do just the same when he was fifteen but Mike detected it with ease. He kind of loved the sound. "This just gets better." He laughed with a smile that read amused. Mike was never more embarrassed in his life. 

"Look, Mick. Let's just leave the past in the past and pretend it never happened, ok? It's not like you to be so bitter..." Mike spoke before realizing he might have overstepped with that comment. Micky glared heavily at him, curling his hand around his door. 

"You don't know me anymore Mike." He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Maybe fun-loving, joking Micky is a thing of the past." He said with confidence though Mike could hardly believe him. And he supposed Micky could tell from his face what he was thinking. 

"Am I being too bitter? Wanna hear something funny? I know a really good knock-knock joke-" Micky spoke fast like he did when he was nervous, Mike tried to interrupt but Micky wasn't about to let him. 

Instead, Micky just shut his door rather harshly in Mike's face. "Knock" Micky whispered to himself once the door clicked. He then turned the lock. "Knock." He whispered bitterly and went back to retreat into his room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mike walked back down to his apartment feeling a mixture of shock and anger. He'd forgot that Peter was waiting for him in his place until he opened the door and there the blonde sat, watching T.V. like he lived there. Mike fought back a grimace as he tried to just walk past his friend.

"How'd it go?" Peter craned his neck to follow his friends movements, an innocent look of curiosity on his face.

*Thump* 

Once again, both men halted and stared up at the ceiling. "Huh." Peter said more to himself then to Mike. "I'm guessing...not good?" He asked, turning his body so he could sit up and look at his friend who was awkwardly standing near his kitchen area.

Mike just shrugged and turned away.

"Mike? What happened?" Peter furrowed his brows and scurried to the end of the couch in an attempt to get closer. 

"Nothing. You can go now, Pete." Mike bent down to get something from his fridge and Peter rolled his eyes, hating when Mike got this way which happened a lot. 

"I'm not stupid, Mike. Just tell me how it went down. Maybe I can do damage control" Peter insisted and Mike stood up straight, coming to lean on his counter. 

"I knew the guy." Mike mumbled and rubbed behind his ear, feeling his nervous sweat from earlier. Peter's blissful eyes widened into shock. He seemed confused for a few seconds before returning to his needy self. 

"You knew him? From where?" 

"Does it matter?" 

"Yeah, kind of." Peter rolled his eyes again and came to stand across from Mike to show he was serious and was going to get annoyed if he wasn't going to be all caught up with Mike. 

The two of them were silent again as the T.V. played a comforting static 'Golden Girls' theme song into the afternoon air. Mike knew he had to give in but he tried to put it off for a few minutes by sipping at his water bottle.

"Summer camp." He shrugged, setting his drink on the counter between them again. 

"Summer camp?" Peter blurted. 

"Yeah...I went to this camp for three summers. My ma thought it'd be good for me. Y'know...meet some friends and stuff." Mike shrugged, looking utterly uncomfortable. Peter almost felt guilty enough to stop him there but he had to know more. "And um, the guy-" 

Mike pointed at the ceiling. "Micky-his name's Micky." He paused again, painfully aware of what he was going to have to explain. "I met him the first summer which was between sixth grade and seventh grade."

Mike stopped like that was the end of his story and Peter let him have a minute before he took a seat to show him he was expecting to hear more to the story.

"Ok...well I was just a kid so I ain't know any better-" Mike attempted to justify something he hadn't yet explained, a very Mike thing to do. Peter tilted his head and gestured for him to go on. 

"But Micky and I spent that whole first summer stuck together like glue. He'd like, made it his mission to get me to do all the activities and junk." Mike rolled his lips together so he wouldn't grin at the memory. "And this counselor made a joke." He shrugged. 

"Which was?" Peter leaned forward. 

"Why does it matter? I tell you, Pete, it don't matter. I ain't speaking to him again." Mike shutdown in a matter of seconds and Peter frowned, expecting the reaction. He gave Mike soft eyes that read concerned and gentle. 

"Look Mike, I won't make you tell this story if you don't want to but I just want to understand things if this turns into an issue. I like you living here, I don't want you to feel like you have to leave instead of facing the issue." Peter said sweetly and Mike frowned. 

Peter always had a way with quilting him into saying things he didn't necessarily want to. He knew all of Mike's weak points and faults. But most of all, Mike knew Peter had pure intentions which was always a big factor into giving in to him.

"The counselor said it was like we were 'little boyfriends.' " Mike blurted and finally let himself sit down across from Peter. "And Micky took that and ran with it. He would call us that all the time and mind you, I was a kid and I didn't quite get it and neither did he...so we went along with it." Mike didn't look happy with himself and Peter once again gave him a soft look.

"And so for the first two summers...Micky was my-I mean, he called me his 'camp boyfriend'. And we'd pal around and-" Mike stopped himself, deciding to withhold some of the story from Peter. 

"Anyway, we came back the summer between eighth and ninth grade and things were different with me. I was a little more educated on some things and Micky was too but...in different ways" 

Peter nodded and hummed, putting things together in his mind. "So, you had realized that what you and Micky had been doing was..." Peter searched for a better way to word things but just decided to be obvious "gay. and that you didn't want to be that way." He finished and Mike bit hard into his lip as he nodded.

Peter knew Mike well enough by now that he knew of the slight struggle the man had with his sexuality. He could never bluntly tell Peter what he was and sometimes Peter wondered if Mike even knew himself. But Mike would tell Peter that it didn't matter cause he never really dated anyway.

"And Micky had realized that too, only he also realized that he was in fact gay?" Peter let that hang as a question though he knew for sure that it was probably what went down.

"Can we just leave it on that I didn't let Micky down gently." Mike held up his hand and Peter nodded, not wanting to push his friend to continue if he was truly against it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That was nine years ago, you're still mad about something that happened that long ago?" Davy asked his friend who was currently sitting on his kitchen counter devouring a container of hummus. 

Davy had been just finishing his lunch when Micky called and insisted he come over. It was often that something like that happened so Davy didn't mind the surprise afternoon visit to Micky's place. In fact, he quite liked Micky's building. Upon arrival he was soon to discover Micky was being rather jittery even for his standards.

"You don't understand." Micky whined, going ahead and skipping out on any sort of chip and just shoving a spoon of into the hummus like their was no tomorrow. Davy had to grimace at the sight. "I was totally smitten with this guy before I even fully grasped what that meant and he-" Micky rubbed his hand against his forehead. 

Davy didn't enjoy seeing his friend so distraught. It wasn't like Micky to be so tense and seemingly insecure. As long as he'd known the guy, he'd been a joy and right now he just seemed....deflated.

"I've always gone for the straight guys. It's my own fault." Micky hopped off his counter, spoon licked clean. "It's not really that I'm mad...maybe just embarrassed? I mean, I thought that since we grew up a little and figured out exactly what we had been doing those other two summers that we could be a thing y'know? Like a real deal kind of couple." Micky sighed and rolled his shoulders back, not feeling all that great. 

"But...he saw it a different way and I came out of it looking naive and stupid." Micky slid the spoon back into his mouth and cleaned off any lingering hummus. He hadn't even eaten lunch yet today, he could never fall into a comfortable routine to save his life. 

Davy also took a second to sigh and gestured for Micky to come sit next to him as he let his arm rest on the back of the couch. "Micky, that was nine years ago. It's over and done with. Now he's just your annoying neighbor." He tried to put things into a new perspective for his friend but Micky didn't seem all that happy with that idea.

"Seeing him again brought me right back to being that thirteen year old again." Micky frowned and Davy wasn't sure what to do

[[~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~]]

Micky could hear the distant sound of buzzing bugs that usually unsettled him but a part of him loved it because it meant he was back at camp. It would most likely be his last year too, considering he was getting to be too old for such a thing according to his dad and he had to agree. So he had high hopes for

He took in a long deep breath to smell the lake air and literally glided over the dirt to the main area of the camp, his bag hitting against his leg. He allowed himself to say hello to the familiar faces and counselors before his eyes searched for the person he wanted to see the most. Mike.

He was easy to spot, standing over the water on one of the docks. Micky smiled to himself and shuffled over, leaving his bag behind him. "Mike!" He shouted as he skidded to a stop just in front of him. For a moment, Mike smiled back and Micky reached over to hug him though something felt completely off. So Micky slid himself off of Mike and pushed his hair back.

"Look, I know it's kind of ummm, awkward because we can't really go around calling each other boyfriends like we did the past two summers-"

"Oh, I'm glad you feel that way too." Micky looked utterly relieved and for a moment so was Micky until he got the feeling they weren't on the same wavelength. 

"Well I was gonna say because we're gonna be in high school soon and kids our age can be cruel-" Micky cut himself off to gesture at their fellow campers. "And I don't think the counselors will find it cute anymore...so we should just keep it between us..." Micky trailed off, searching Mike's face for confirmation that he too felt that way. 

Only Mike's face changed to a rather panicked one. Micky got a horrible sinking feeling in his stomach. "But judging by your face, I shouldn't have opened my big mouth, huh?" Micky let his eyes fall to the ground with embarrassment.

"Listen, Mick. We were just kids, we didn't now any better. We ain't that way." Mike shrugged and Micky felt heat grow within himself, feeling offended in every way. 

"Well I am." Micky let out a hiccup of his disappointment and kicked himself for sounding so sad. Mike's face fell with guilt. "You're not?" Micky asked, wondering if that was appropriate to ask and he thought it was. 

"I just think it's best that we just quit doing that kind of stuff, y'know." Mike shrugged and Micky grew more irritated as he spoke. 

"Mike, are you?" He repeated and still the Texan was searching for a way to dodge his question. "Mike. Are you ending things because you're not into guys or because you just don't want to be into guys and think that this is gonna make that feeling go away?" Micky pressed and Mike scowled at him like he had no right to say that and Micky felt a little guilty for assuming even though he was sure he was right.

Mike's face gave Micky his answer for him which he was sure Mike was thankful for because he wouldn't have to say it out loud. Micky's shoulders dropped with heartache. "You could have waited till the end of the summer..." Micky mumbled, his voice a little wobbly as he tried not to cry like a baby. "Cause now I have to spend this whole summer by myself cause the last two years I spent it with you and I don't even really know anyone-"

"Give me a break Micky. You're so outgoing. You'll be fine, you can make friends with anyone you wanted." Mike scowled. 

"Well I don't want to!" Micky shouted and Mike took a step back, shocked. Micky titled his head up and sucked in his breath. "I don't want to spend the summer with people I don't really care about." Micky looked so hurt and Mike willed himself not to give in. 

"Micky this ain't nothing. We were 'camp boyfriends' " Mike did air quotes that felt like a jab in Micky's stomach. "Stuff like that ain't supposed to last. It's just cute shit that kids do." Mike shrugged and Micky wanted to vomit. 

"Don't cheapen it, Mike." Micky shook his head. "I'm not letting you do that. Making it seem like you don't give a shit. I don't buy that crap, Mike. I don't. So don't even try it." Micky grew more confident, gesturing wildly with his hands. 

"Remember that first summer when we both pretended we were sick so we didn't have to do the stupid activity that day?" Micky stepped closer and Mike swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat. "And how we decided that since we were boyfriends, we should have a first kiss..." Micky went on, not caring what Mike was thinking. 

"So we shut ourselves in your cabin and sat on the floor. It was raining too, I remember." Micky chuckled. "And we kept trying to kiss but we were giggly kids and didn't know what we were doing....you grabbed the sides of my face and kissed me so fast, I barely could register it." Micky was now so close to Mike that he could feel him breathing. 

"Micky, don't!" Mike abruptly shouted, stepping back from the boy in front of him. Micky fell back on his feet a little and seemed rather winded. "I ain't gay, get over it." Mike pushed past Micky with heat in his eyes. 

Micky bit hard into his lip and willed any tears away.

[[~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~]] 

Davy shrugged at the end of Micky's re-telling of the story and offered his friend a sympathetic grin. "You gotta admire your persistence." He pointed out and Micky rolled his eyes, wanting to slap Davy's arm. "Look Micky, guys like that-who reject their own sexuality-you can't do anything about them."

Micky gave Davy a look. "You rejected yours at first and look at you now." Micky gestured to Davy, who had reached out for the hummus himself. Davy thought on that for a moment.

"Ok, well maybe sometimes you can but this Mike guy isn't worth your time. It's some silly camp relationship from nine years ago, man." Davy shrugged and Micky slumped against his seat and crossed his arms. "I'm gonna go get us some real food." Davy dipped his finger in the hummus and licked it clean as he stood up. Before he left, he shut the container and threw it back in the fridge. He'd gotten in the habit of cleaning after Micky considering his friend was sort of chaotic and could hardly keep track of himself.

He threw Micky a smile before he hurried out the door, fueled by pure hunger. The building was a cozy size and area that Davy really enjoyed and had him almost consider finding out if their was an open apartment. But alas, Davy was comfortable where he was and had come to the point that the next time he moved out, it should be to move in with a significant other.

Right as Davy descended the last step, someone had rounded the corner from the laundry room and smacked right into him. He fell back but caught himself before disaster. He blinked a few times and his eyes readjusted to the bright fluorescent lights.

"Oops sorry about that." Came a charming voice. Davy shrugged as he looked up at the guy. 

"S'alright." Davy got ready to walk right past the guy until he heard him speak again. 

"You don't live in the building, do you? I think i'd remember a face like yours" He asked and Davy chuckled as he shook his head. He had to admit, this guy was pretty cute. 

"Nah. My name's Davy." He reached out to shake this guys hand.

"Peter." He smiled and returned the shake.

"I'm just visiting my friend, Micky. You know him?" Davy asked, hoping the answer was no cause if it was yes, then Micky had some explaining to do for not introducing him.

Peter seemed to go through a cycle of emotions within the span of a few seconds, his laundry basket now balanced on his hip. Right before he opened his mouth to speak he looked mighty curious about something. "No but my friend Mike might." Peter rolled his lips together, searching Davy's next expression carefully to see if he knew the whole ordeal as well.

And judging by his face, he did. They both looked at each others expressions carefully, trying to decide how much the other person knew of the story. The momentary tension was gone when the blonde offered a smile that made Davy want to smile right back. "You know the story?"

Davy nodded, wiping under his nose and smiling. "Yeah. Got the gist of it today actually." He chuckled.

"Is this fate or is this fate?" The other man grinned from ear to ear as Davy remained a little confused. He set his basket of laundry on the little table by the mail slots and spoke again. "I mean, we should do something to get them to speak...maybe they're each other's lost loves." The man interlocked his own hands as if to display this with an expression of joy. 

Davy shrugged, looking off to the side. "Or...." He started "This is all just one big coincidence and they'll just have to learn to ignore each other....well more like Mike will have to ignore Micky considering he's the one who came up to complain in the first place-"

Davy faded off when he caught a look of the other mans disappointed face. "What? This is hardly fate, Peter." Davy shrugged, taking a quick look up the stairs. "This is barely a good way to spend an afternoon." He said in more of a mumbled tone.

"I think you could stand to be a little more optimistic." Peter teased, picking up his laundry basket again and setting it on his hip to balance it. The man was just about to curve around Davy and go right back up the stairs...that is until Davy heard himself speak again. 

"I can be optimistic." He insisted. Peter turned, lowering one foot a step as a playful smile took over his face again.

"Really?" 

"Yeah. I'm optimistic that if I ask you out sometime, you'll say yes." Davy grinned with confidence. Peter tilted his chin up as if willing away some blush, Davy felt a little rush of relief and victory. 

"We'll see." Peter called back with an equal amount of smugness in his tone. Davy half frowned and half smirked. The guy was proving to be a lot of fun. 

Peter turned back to finish his way up the stairs only to have Davy follow right after him. Both of them sporting smiles.

"What does that mean? Is that a yes or...?" Davy grinned as Peter creaked up the stairs and held his laundry basket close to him. They continued strolling down the hallway of apartments. Peter was chuckling, a warm and deep toned laugh that Davy adored. He momentarily remembered that he was supposed to get food for Micky and himself but he pushed that aside because if he could get a date with this guy, that would be his priority. 

"I don't know." Peter shrugged, now walking backwards to face Davy and he was still holding the basket. Davy thought it was a disaster waiting to happen but the was too bust smiling at him to do anything about it. He didn't even hear the sound of a door opening until-

"Peter?" 

And then Peter, who was completely caught off guard, toppled to the floor. Davy's instinct was to catch the flying laundry basket. From the floor, Peter smiled at the man in the doorway. "Hey Mike."

Davy let himself lower the laundry basket in his grip and he bit into his lip. The guy was about Micky's height but a hair or so taller. He stood confidently and stiff, looking down at Peter with curiosity and annoyance so akin to the familiarity of an old friendship. Davy took the few minutes to analyze this Mike that had Micky so hung up. He didn't seem like all that.

Davy shrugged. Not his type anyway....he didn't figure him to be Micky's either. In fact, he seemed quite...tense. "Who's this?" Mike asked and Davy snapped out of his moments daze.

Peter stood, gripping onto the edge of the basket for support before taking it into his arms again while Davy gave Mike a judgy look from afar. "Oh, this is Davy." Peter smiled and gestured to his new found friend. Davy politely smiled. Mike raised his eyebrow.

"Friend of yours?" Mike asked, going back to look at Peter who he was without a doubt more comfortable with. Peter nodded and made to walk into Mike's place before gesturing Davy to follow, which he did.

"Come in, won't you?" Mike sarcastically asked the wall outside his apartment before shutting his door 

"You know, Peter. I must be going. I was on my way to get food for-" Davy paused as he looked at Mike, who returned the look with confusion. "My friend and I." Davy continued and Peter grinned. 

"Oh. sure, sure." Peter went to guide Davy right back out the door he'd just come from. Mike rolled his eyes as they passed. "I love your accent by the way." Peter said in that charming voice he put on to flirt. 

"Thank you." Davy chuckled, falling right into it. Mike leaned on his wall with his arms crossed. The pair stood right by the door for a few minutes. "Now about that date...?" Davy found himself marveling at how he'd managed to be in the opposite role than he usually was. 

Peter nodded. "I would love to do something." Peter chuckled, finding it hard to remain in the 'hard to get' persona he'd started on. Davy looked absolutely pleased with his response.

"You two done flirting?" Mike interrupted from across his apartment. 

Where Peter just laughed, Davy scrunched up his nose. He looked around Mike's place and let a thought slip from his mouth before thinking it through. "You seem quite boring. I don't get what it is Micky saw in you."

Peter whipped his head around with a smirk. He'd expected Davy to keep it quiet that he knew Micky but he also expected him to be better about it.

"Oops. Wrecked that one, huh?" Davy slapped Peter's arm as Mike's eyes widened and he walked over to an appropriate distance for conversation. 

"He knows Micky?" Mike asked Peter with a look of annoyance. Davy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms with a bit of sass. 

"Hey, you can talk to me, you know? I'm right here." He waved his hand to emphasize his point. 

Mike frowned, finally looking to Davy though he was never comfortable facing complete strangers. Especially if they possibly knew something sensitive about himself. "I do know em'. He told me the whole run-down of the story." Davy shrugged and Mike was absolutely mortified. Peter rolled his lips together and felt for his friend.

"And from what I can tell from this lovely interaction we're having....you don't seem like his type." Davy wasn't trying to be rude but he'd been told countless times that he'd come off that way before. 

"It don't matter cause Micky's not my type either." Mike shrugged and Peter tilted his chin down to his shoulder and Davy gave Mike a look. "Cause he ain't a girl." Mike continued pathetically. Peter threw him a look of sympathy and understanding.

"That was the most obvious way to claim heterosexuality." Davy chuckled and Peter whacked him a good one on the side of his arm, even though he had to agree. Davy rolled his lips together and tried a more genuine approach. 

"Look man, I don't know you. I just know what Micky's told me. But I've been down that rabbit hole. Denying your sexuality doesn't get you anywhere." Davy thought that he should probably keep his mouth shut about other peoples problems but sometimes things just slipped. And Micky was his friend, who seemed quite hung up over this.

Peter frowned, sucking in his breath as he waited for Mike's blow up of a reaction that he was sure to come. But the man stayed silent and sort of brooding. So Davy went on. 

"We could actually be very similar, you and I." Davy pursed his lips and finally Mike reacted in some way by rolling his eyes. 

"Where do you get off assuming stuff about me?" Mike's tone was a calmer sort of anger that Peter didn't care for but it was much less then he'd expected. Davy held his ground in a very cute confident way, at least Peter thought so. 

"Look, I didn't come to start a bickering match with you." Davy shrugged. "I'm just really into your mate..." Davy chuckled, giving Peter a look which was returned. Mike rolled his eyes yet again. "But, I think what the two of you need is closure. Hash it out and that. So you can get over it and move past it." Davy said, looking more to the hopeful Peter at the end there. Davy saw no realistic way for Micky and Mike to end up together, just as casual neighbors. 

Mike rolled his shoulders back and took in some air. He actually seemed to consider this strangers idea which Peter thought was interesting. And thus....Peter hatched a plan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mick? Open the door, I brought food." Davy's voice came from the other side of Micky's door. Micky briefly looked up from the hummus he was yet again scraping from the container. He sucked his finger clean and hopped over to his door. 

Opening the door, Davy pushed past Micky with a look of worry. Micky was just about to ask what was up when in walked the last person he'd want to see. Mike stood awkwardly to the side as some blonde guy Micky sort of recognized from the building. "Well....this isn't what I ordered." Micky made a joke like he always did when he was nervous. Mike seemed to recognize that habit in familiarity which made Micky all the more irritated.

Davy pulled Micky aside to talk to him which gave Mike the opportunity to turn to Peter for a little one on one for the first time in the last like twenty minutes. "Peter." He spoke in an annoyed tone.

Peter shuffled on his feet a little and turned with a sympathetic smile. "Yes?"

"I don't wanna be here-" 

Mike was cut off already when Davy came strolling back over, looking towards Micky as he stood next to Peter. "I'm actually going to get some food now and bring it back here. So you can have some alone time, I'll be bringing Peter." Davy turned to face Peter with a flirty face. Mike wanted to gag. "Just get yourselves to be civil neighbors because drama's not as fun if you're living with it all the time." Davy said, giving Micky a look because the guy was dramatic.

Micky was mortified with that comment as Davy walked out, leaving he and Mike completely alone.

Mike stood there like he was anchored to the floor, hands in his pockets with an awkward expression. So Micky figured he'd better take the lead in this situation. If Mike was the same as he used to be, he put on the leading persona but was actually quite gentle.

"Sooooo." Micky went with the obvious way to start a conversation. He stepped forward and awkwardly placed his hands together before sitting down on his couch. Mike took the hint and sat next to him, though enough of a distance away that it seemed odd. "Hi again." Micky genuinely grinned at Mike for the first time in around nine years. Mike felt his stomach flutter in a way it hadn't in years. Most specifically....nine frickin' years ago. Mike thought with a look of annoyance.

"Hey." Mike nodded his head, shuffling in his spot. Micky went ahead again and decided to lead them into the conversation. 

"Look...I'm sorry about whatever Davy might have said to you....he gave me a brief run-down of what happened." Micky shrugged. "By the way, he's really into your friend Peter so...that's a thing that might happen." He rubbed behind his ear and licked his lips. "What I'm getting at is that we might be seeing a lot of each other...maybe...maybe we won't and this is stupid. But to be fair, it wasn't my idea-"

"Micky." Mike held up his hand and Micky clamped his mouth shut. "I want us to be civil too." He shrugged with a kind smile that eased Micky entirely. "What happened was such a long time ago....and considering we ended up livin' in the same building years later, well that is kind of...odd." Mike let himself smile a little more. "But sort of cool too."

Micky chuckled, playing with his hands nervously. "Yeah. Mike, can I ask you something?" Micky asked, shuffling closer but with a look of concern on his face. Mike grew uncomfortable again.

"I can't stop you." Mike said in such a simple way that Micky didn't know if he should feel better or worse. 

"Are...ok-hold on." Micky didn't want to sound completely obnoxious or ignorant or naive or any other word he could think of. But he truly, truly wanted to know the answer to the question that had always unsettled him.

"Did you...did you really like me?" Micky cringed at the horrible way it made him sound. Pathetically insecure. Mike pulled back, that was not the question he'd expected from him. In fact, it hadn't crossed his mind since seeing Micky again, that he'd ask that. "Ok, you know what? Forget I asked." Micky tried to laugh it off as he realized Mike's confusion.

"Davy told me that you said you were straight. So I shouldn't...-I mean, I'm being very ignorant." Micky stumbled through his sentence and was deathly afraid that if Mike didn't speak up soon, he'd just go on and on. 

"Micky-" 

"Thank God." Micky accidentally let his thought spill from his mouth and Mike gave him an expression of utter confusion. "I was just afraid that if you didn't say something soon, I'd just talk and talk....like I am now so please continue." Micky chuckled awkwardly and paused himself.

For some odd reason, that was all Mike needed to relax. The familiarity of Micky's bubbly yet nervous personality was soothing. The boy hadn't changed. Mike smiled with genuine ease. "I...well I am straight, Mick." Mike let out the small nickname as some sort of consolation, Micky could see right through him.

"Mike." Micky said simply and tried very hard not to sound rude. "I'm only gonna say this because I want to help you because I don't think you're helping yourself-" 

"Micky. You can't assume shit about me." Mike shrugged. "Don't think you know me just because we were friends at camp nine years ago." He scowled again and Micky shook his head. 

"Mike....I'm not just assuming. I remember those summers and what you were like with me." Micky shuffled closer, still speaking calmly and gentle. Mike shuffled a little ways back but didn't shoot up. 

"Hiding your sexuality isn't going to get you anywhere...it's just going to make you sad in the long run. Trust me." Micky picked at his fingers with an unbelievable amount of nerves in his tone. Mike still didn't seem happy with the way this conversation was going so Micky got another idea. 

"Look. If this is about you thinking that being gay makes you less of a man..." Micky gestured his hand out to halt Mike from speaking again. "Sexuality doesn't define that. Real people don't care about that. Gay men are still men, Mike." Micky shrugged. 

Mike huffed and looked away from Micky.

"I've had this complex before." Micky sighed, his body slumping a little at the memories of his past struggles. Mike turned back with a look of curiosity that made it worth it. "I...I'm very-y'know..." Micky blindly tried to search for the right word that wouldn't hurt his own pride though it was in vain because it was nothing to be ashamed of and that was the point he was trying to make.

"Feminine?" Mike finished for him and Micky suddenly felt a whole lot more vulnerable, though that was what he was aiming for. 

"Yeah." Micky nodded, blushing with fresh embarrassment. "But that doesn't make me less of a man, right?" Micky bumped their arms together and Mike still looked rather uncomfortable. 

"Of course not." Mike shook his head, feeling a mixture of ridiculous and embarrassed. 

"So why is it any different for you?" Micky asked, looking proud of himself. Mike wanted nothing more than to get himself out of this situation. He hadn't even been able to start his laundry yet and it was going to throw him off. 

"I ain't feminine, Micky." 

Micky let out an audible annoyed sigh as he rolled his eyes. He always did have a little bit of trouble putting up with Mike's blatant stubbornness when they were young. So why should it be any different now? Mike wasn't all that different from when Micky last knew him. And he supposed to Mike, he wasn't all that different either.

"That's not the point I'm making and you know that. Don't take everything I say so literally" Micky scoffed, hating when people pretended they didn't get something just to get out of having an actual conversation about it. "What I'm saying is, just because you're gay doesn't mean you're any less of a guy. Geez." Micky rolled his eyes again, a gesture Mike was getting used to. Micky got to his feet again and walked towards his kitchen area, leaning on the counter. Maybe trying to relate his own experience to Mike was pointless. 

"Look, it's... whatever. None of my business I guess" Micky shrugged. "We're ok. You can go now." He finally decided it was time to give up. This seemed like a dead-end and Micky wasn't into pushing Mike when he was this uncomfortable and stubborn. 

"Really?" Mike asked and Micky frowned, he'd kind of been hoping Mike might not take that bait. But Mike was Mike. Incapable of change, apparently. He was ready to go back to his day as if this never happened.

"Sure." 

Mike wiped his palms down his jean covered thighs as he stood up, bumping his fists together in an odd way once he was still. Micky was still polite, he followed Mike to the door as if to guide him out. And there they paused, Mike's eyes lingering at Micky's expression. It was soft and gentle, his mouth a little agape with that touch of curiosity that he always did carry. Mike found it hard to pull away from the other man. Like he was a damn magnet. "Shit, Micky why do you have to do this to me." Mike muttered, covering his worried brows with a distressed hand.

Micky pulled slightly back with confusion and annoyance clear in his tone, he spat back, "What?" 

"I ain't seen you in nine years and I was fine but now that I'm seeing you again...it's like I can't get past this." Mike rolled his eyes at himself. "You got this thing over me or something. God, I hate that." 

Micky shook his head. "S'not my fault." He pursed his lips. "I'm not purposefully doing anything here. But I mean, if you seeing me is causing some new yet familiar stirs of emotion, I think that says a lot more about you than me." Micky's tone was a little more playful but still strong.

Rehashing these past events with Micky was not part of Mike's usual routine. And it annoyed him to no end that it seemed to be taking such a toll on him. Micky however, looked newly confident again. Like he could just go on with this for the whole rest of his day. "How do you do this, Mick?" 

Micky paused, not sure what Mike was referring to.

"I mean, you're so cool to talk about this stuff. I know I probably hurt ya back then but you're still trying to...'help me'-" Mike put air quotes around that, much to Micky's irritation. "And you seem so cool...with yourself." Mike shrugged. 

"Well Mike, I guess...I just didn't seem to think of my sexuality as that big of a deal." Micky cringed at his own phrasing. "Course, I had my own struggles and figuring it out at first was confusing...especially since I was like thirteen or fourteen...can't remember." Micky paused to chuckle. 

"And yeah, you did hurt me but that was a long time ago and I realized that it's silly to hold a grudge for that long. And I just don't really want you to go on pretending a part of yourself doesn't exist." Micky shrugged. "No one should. I can't imagine that fulfills you?" 

Mike bit into his lip and they stared at each other for a few silent seconds before Mike shrugged. "It's not the worst." Mike said, feeling as that was his admission. And that was an understatement. Mike found that the lifestyle he was living was really lonely, not that he wanted to admit that. Micky nodded with understanding.

"Your lifestyle should make you happy, Mike. Your frame of mind shouldn't be 'Oh well, It's not the worst'." Micky shook his head and gave Mike a gentle grin. "Figure out who you are and then be yourself." Micky reached out and playfully smacked his arm. 

Mike had to chuckle at the cliche words of advice. But Micky had his points. Mike sighed and thought for a few seconds.

"Think on it for as long as you need." Micky smiled and Mike couldn't believe how sweet he was being. 

"I like ya, Mick." Mike said simply, Micky found it rather humorous.

"That's sweet." He poked him again. "Well, you can spend as much time as you want with me now that I'm right upstairs." Micky grinned. "And maybe we'll see what happens."

Mike chuckled. He deserved that ambiguity from the boy.


End file.
